What infinite-capacity MRP scheduling is
Material requirements planning (MRP) starts from demand and works backward. For each order it explodes the bill of materials, then schedules each operation back from the due date using fixed lead times: setup, run, queue and move. Each work center is treated as if it had unlimited capacity. Whether one job or twenty need the same machine that week, MRP gives each the same dates.
The output is planned orders, purchase suggestions and operation dates. Many ERPs then run capacity requirements planning (CRP), which adds up the load by work center and shows where it exceeds capacity. CRP reports the overload. It doesn't move any work to fix it.
Why MRP uses infinite capacity
MRP was built to answer a material question: what to buy and make, in what quantity, and roughly when. For that question, fixed lead times work well enough, and the calculation stays simple and stable. Sequencing every operation against real machine and labor capacity is a different, harder problem, and many ERPs leave it to the planner.
Where infinite-capacity dates break on the floor
- Overloaded weeks look fine. The schedule shows every job on time while the bottleneck is loaded far beyond its hours.
- Queue time is a guess. A constant queue allowance hides the real wait, which depends on everything else at that work center.
- People aren't counted. A machine with no qualified operator on shift still shows as capacity. (Skody's Plant & Enterprise plan adds people to the finite model.)
- Nothing moves when the floor changes. A machine goes down or a hot job lands, and the dates stay the same until the next MRP run.
- Past-due work piles up at "today". Operations that should already be done stack up as overdue, and the floor works from an expedite list instead of the schedule.
Example: one machine, one week
Three jobs each need 20 hours on the same machining center, and all three are due Friday. The machine has 40 hours available that week. MRP backward-schedules each job to finish on Friday, so the plan shows three on-time jobs. That is 60 hours of work in 40 hours of capacity. One of those jobs will be late, but nothing says which until Friday.
A finite schedule places the jobs in sequence. Two fit by Friday. The third can't finish until the following Monday, and the schedule flags it as late at the start of the week, not on Friday afternoon. Now there's time to decide: overtime, an extra shift, an alternate machine or a new date for that customer.
For the wider finite-vs-infinite comparison, see finite capacity scheduling.
Keep MRP, add a finite schedule: who does what
| Job | MRP / ERP | Finite scheduling layer (Skody) |
|---|---|---|
| Material requirements and planned orders | Yes | Reads them |
| Purchasing, inventory and costing | Yes | Reads what it needs |
| Operation sequence on each machine | Fixed lead times, infinite capacity | Finite, by machine (plus qualified person on Skody’s Plant & Enterprise plan) |
| Response to a machine down or a hot job | Waits for the next MRP run | Recomputes the whole shop |
| Late-job and bottleneck visibility | Load reports after the fact | Late-job view, bottleneck map, capacity forecast |
Skody connects to ProShop, Fulcrum and JobBOSS²; Acumatica and SYSPRO integrations are also listed on skody.ai. The ERP stays the system of record.
When another approach is the better fit
- Your ERP has a finite option that's enough. JobBOSS², for example, lets you choose finite or infinite scheduling by work center. If that plan holds through the day, use it.
- You want MRP and finite scheduling in one installed tool. User Solutions' EDGEBIC Complete combines finite capacity scheduling with MRP, inventory, purchasing and material pegging, sold as a $35,000 one-time license for an installed Windows application.
- You're planning many plants and a supply chain. Enterprise APS products such as PlanetTogether cover multi-site planning and integrate with ERPs including SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics. PlanetTogether does not publish pricing.
- Your problem is material, not capacity. If most late orders wait on suppliers, better MRP data and purchasing matter more than sequencing.
Pricing
- Shop plan: starts at $1,500 per month, month-to-month. Includes machine capacity scheduling, finite-capacity scheduling, automatic conflict resolution, due-date-first optimization, ERP integration, delivery-risk and late-job visibility, planner overrides and what-if scenarios, and production dashboards.
- Plant & Enterprise plan: custom pricing based on scope. Adds workforce capacity scheduling, skills and personnel availability constraints, machine and workforce optimization, pallet pool and multi-part scheduling, lights-out production planning, MES and machine telemetry integration, multi-department and multi-site deployment, and advanced integrations.
- Pricing is per shop, not per user. There is no free trial; Shop plans are month-to-month instead.
- Every deployment is hosted in ITAR-ready Gov Cloud. SOC 2 Type II.
See pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is infinite capacity scheduling?
Infinite capacity scheduling sets operation dates as if every work center could handle unlimited work at the same time. It's the default in most MRP and ERP scheduling. The dates are simple to compute but can't all be met when several jobs need the same machine or person.
Why does MRP assume infinite capacity?
MRP was designed to plan material: what to buy and make, and roughly when. Fixed lead times are good enough for that and keep the calculation simple. Sequencing every operation against real machine and labor capacity is a separate problem that MRP leaves to the planner or to a scheduling layer.
What is the difference between infinite and finite capacity scheduling?
Infinite capacity scheduling ignores how much work a resource can do; finite capacity scheduling only places an operation where the machine (and, in more advanced models, a qualified person) is actually free. Finite schedules show which jobs will be late; infinite schedules show every job on time until it isn't. See finite capacity scheduling.
Is capacity requirements planning (CRP) the same as finite scheduling?
No. CRP adds up the load that MRP created and shows where it exceeds capacity. It reports the overload but doesn't resequence work to fix it. Finite scheduling places the work within capacity in the first place.
Can my ERP do finite capacity scheduling?
Some can, partly. JobBOSS², for example, lets you choose finite or infinite scheduling by work center. The question is whether the plan still holds after the floor changes, and whether people are part of the model. If the planner rebuilds it by hand every day, a finite layer such as Skody helps.
Do I have to stop using MRP to get a finite schedule?
No. Keep MRP for material requirements, purchasing and costing. Skody reads that data from your ERP and builds the shop-floor schedule on top, recomputing it when conditions change.
How do I compare MRP software options with finite capacity scheduling?
Ask each vendor four things: whether operator skills and shifts limit the schedule, what happens when a machine goes down mid-shift, how the scheduler gets ERP data and how often, and what it costs. Then test on a week of your own jobs.
Which ERPs does Skody connect to?
Skody runs live ERP-connected scheduling with ProShop, Fulcrum and JobBOSS². Acumatica and SYSPRO integrations are also listed on skody.ai. Skody connects to any ERP; for one we haven't connected yet, setup typically takes about 3 weeks after you sign. Your ERP stays the system of record for orders, routings, inventory and costing.
How much does Skody cost?
Skody starts at $1,500 per month on the Shop plan (month-to-month), which covers machine capacity scheduling, what-if scenarios and dashboards. The Plant & Enterprise plan, with custom pricing based on scope, adds workforce and skills scheduling, pallets, lights-out planning and multi-site. There is no free trial.
Sources and verification
Checked October 10, 2026. Statements about other vendors come only from their own public pages listed here; statements about Skody come from skody.ai. Vendor capabilities and prices change, so confirm anything critical directly with each vendor.
- Skody pricing: https://skody.ai/pricing: Shop plan starting at $1,500/month (machine capacity and finite-capacity scheduling, conflict resolution, due-date-first optimization, ERP integration, late-job visibility, what-if scenarios, dashboards); Plant & Enterprise plan at custom pricing based on scope (adds workforce and skills scheduling, pallets, lights-out, MES and telemetry, multi-site); month-to-month Shop plans, no free trial, per-shop pricing; every deployment hosted in ITAR-ready Gov Cloud.
- Skody integrations: https://skody.ai/ (integrations list): ProShop, Fulcrum, JobBOSS², Acumatica and SYSPRO.
- JobBOSS² scheduling (ECI Software Solutions): https://www.ecisolutions.com/products/jobboss2/features/scheduling/: finite or infinite scheduling by work center.
- EDGEBIC pricing (User Solutions): https://usersolutions.com/pricing: EDGEBIC Complete at $35,000 one-time, adding MRP, inventory, purchasing and material pegging to finite capacity scheduling; Windows desktop application.
- PlanetTogether FAQ and integrations: https://www.planettogether.com/aps-software/faq and https://www.planettogether.com/aps-software-integrations: MRP vs APS, multi-site support, example ERPs. No pricing page is published.
Editorial methodology
- Skody AI publishes this page and sells the product it recommends for the cases described. We say so plainly rather than presenting it as third-party research.
- Details about other vendors come only from their own public pages listed in Sources, checked October 10, 2026. Where a vendor doesn't publish something, the page says "not published" instead of guessing. "Not published" is not the same as "not available."
- No vendor reviewed this page or paid for inclusion. There are no scores, ratings or reviews on this page.
- Product capabilities and prices change. Verify every critical requirement with each vendor, on your own data, before you buy.